Scroll down for full fingerstyle guitar lesson (with tab/video tutorial) of Julia by The Beatles.

Julia was written by John Lennon and appears on The Beatles' 1968 album 'The White Album'. He wrote the song about his mother, who passed away in 1958 at the age of 44 after being hit by a car that was driven by a drunk off-duty police officer. John was just 17 at the time.

The song consists of just John's vocals and him fingerpicking acoustic guitar. After taking a guitar lesson with fellow musician Donavon, Lennon employed travis picking technique and used it throughout the entire piece.

Another interesting thing about Julia is the chords Lennon's used, it's in the key of D major but he's borrowed many from other keys. This is very typical of The Beatles and one reason why their songs are so good.

Julia Song Details:

Tempo - 135 bpm

Key - D major

Capo - 2nd

Tuning - standard

Difficulty - intermediate

Verse

First of all, the key thing you want to get down is the right hand fingerpicking pattern. The same pattern is used throughout the entire song, with just one small exception in the bridge, so master this and then add the chords in. This will certainly make the learning process for this song considerably easier.